Pain, Pain, Go Away!

Long ago, nobody messed with Mother Nature (much). Mostly, nobody knew how, and the traditional ways were common sense. Along came the chemical age, and then the backlash. Some say anything from a lab is harmful; others say Mother Nature alone is not enough. Of course, I'm talking about gardening. In general, gardeners seem to be on one side or the other: chemicals should be avoided entirely, or the only good bug is a dead bug. (Conversion is possible, though: a friend of mine was fervently anti-chemical until her apartment got a bedbug infestation.) Jeff Gillman, a professor of horticulture at the University of Minnesota has chosen a different side: looking at the evidence. His book The Truth About Organic Gardening tips over some of the sacred cows of both camps: For instance, natural pesticides aren't necessarily safer than synthetic ones (good to know if you eat organic fruit, since natural pesticides are used on organically grown fruit). And bug sprays can make an inf

A few months ago, after suddenly gaining a pound a day, and by sheer coincidence, reading The Paleo Answer by Loren Cordain describing the insulin-spiking effects of dairy, I changed my diet. I gave away my custard and low-carb ice cream and cut way back on the half and half. I've kept eating cheese--it doesn't have much insulin-spiking effect, according to Cordain. I stopped gaining weight and dropped three pounds, but I'm still up five pounds from my weight before my sinus infection. Nevertheless, all my clothes still fit (albeit a little tighter). (I had just taken a gigantic dose of vitamin D. I like to imagine my weight gain being mostly bone mass.) Other effects ensued. Since I'm not sure how to put this delicately, I'll just say it: I smell better. Before, when I went for a leisurely walk in warm weather, my Right Guard took a left turn. I had to soak a lot of my shirts in Biz to make them smell fresh. But last weekend, for example,when I was putting i

Can you be too thin? Certainly--but in a day when the average American man and woman weigh 191 and 164 pounds(1), and some athletes have bulked up with steroids, some people have lost perspective of what "too thin" is. Maybe somebody should tell these civic-minded Russians in miniskirts to let a tractor shovel the snow, lest they faint on the sidewalk. Better drop that log!   And those clay water jars!   That paleo diet is going to kill you!  Better take up dainty activity of gardening instead-- er, wait ... The pictures show that people can be thin, strong and energetic. Yet my best friend worries about me and my diet because she thinks I'm too thin (even though we both have about the same energy level--and she has health problems that I don't). My mom thinks I'm too thin, too, but she grew up in the thirties and forties, when thinness was associated with malnutrition. "Of the first million men screened by draft boards in 1940," says the article &q

You've probably heard about the blogger Diabetes Warrior, a type 1 diabetic who's in hot water with the state of North Carolina for talking up the paleo diet that has restored his health. Officially, he's in trouble for giving medical advice, but come on: what are the chances he'd be in trouble if he had recommended a low-fat diet and healthy whole grains? There but for the good sense of the Colorado legislature go I. A few month ago, Rep. Massey introduced a bill to require licensing of dietitians , and defined dietetics as  THE INTEGRATION, APPLICATION, AND COMMUNICATION OF PRINCIPLES DERIVED FROM FOOD, NUTRITION, SOCIAL, BUSINESS, AND BASIC SCIENCES, TO ACHIEVE AND MAINTAIN OPTIMAL NUTRITION STATUS OF INDIVIDUALS THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT, PROVISION, AND MANAGEMENT OF EFFECTIVE FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICES IN A VARIETY OF SETTINGS. Sounds like what goes on here and on a lot of other blogs. The bill continued, A PERSON WHO WISHES TO PRACTICE DIETETICS IN THI

As our friends on the East Coast dry off and dig out from under a foot of snow, it's a beautiful 80-degree evening here in Denver, Colorado. Truth to tell, though, I wish it were snowing here too: it would stop my hay fever in its tracks. If you have pain in your upper teeth, in your face, and behind your eyes, a runny nose, and itchy eyes, you may have allergies, too. Some say that this has been one of the worst years for allergy sufferers. I've had allergies most of my life and I've tried a number of different things for relief. Here's what has and has not worked for me: Allergy shots. They worked--but they're inconvenient and expensive. Antihistamines. They work, but they make you drowsy. Avoiding dairy. This doesn't necessarily prevent allergies, but it may keep you from getting even more congested. (Milk, whey and certain brands of cream bother me.) For alternatives, try coconut milk or almond milk, or even another brand of cream. Avoiding wheat. H

It's been a year since I started the cavity healing diet. Last week, I went back to the dentist for a routine cleaning and exam. Results: Dr. Michelangelo (not his real name) still wanted to fill the small cavities he found last year. I had this done today. I don't think the fillings will hurt anything, and having them should prevent crud from finding a place to settle for the day. And I don't think he's given to drilling and filling for the sake of it: he never gave my best friend a filling while he was her dentist, and back in February when one of my wisdom teeth hurt, he said the tooth was fine and diagnosed a sinus infection. (Infection can raise your blood sugar, which probably didn't help my teeth over the last six months.) After he was finished, Dr. Michelangelo said the cavity had probably been forming for years.I know the groove on my lower tooth was there for years. He remarked that how white my teeth were, down to the roots (he used A2 colored fillin

Liver is Mother Nature's multi-vitamin, and at two dollars and change a pound, it's an inexpensive meal. The challenge is eating it if you don't like it. How about giving yourself a reward while you eat it: gravy! Chicken Fried Liver 1/4 pound chicken livers 3 T coconut flour 1 egg, beaten 3 T almond meal Pinch salt Few dashes of savory spice mix (herbes fines, jerk spice, Mrs. Dash, etc.) 2 T lard or coconut oil Heat the lard or coconut oil over a medium-low flame. In a small bowl, mix the salt and spices with the almond meal. Roll the liver in coconut flour, then egg, then the almond meal mix and put on a separate plate. When all the livers are ready, put them in the pan, using tongs and an oven mitt for safety's sake. Gently turn them after one minute. Let them cook for five to ten minutes until they're no longer bloody. Place them on a clean plate. Gravy Pan drippings from the liver 2 large chopped button mushrooms 1/2 c chicken or other m